The Lady by the River

Before she threw herself down on the bank by the river, Sabine had been running, literally running, nonstop for four days. The moment her body hit the soil, she started panting rapidly, her chest rising and falling quickly. Her eyes focused on the river in front of her and on its fast rushing current. They did not dart this way and that as they usually would have, and her body was completely relaxed in its slump, a contrast to her usually coiled spring.

I’ve been running truly longer than four days, she thought as she looked at the river, and I’ve been running as fast as that current too for so long or else everyone else has been dragging me along and using me to get what they want as fast as that current is pulling that water. And I’ve always been fighting the current or flowing with it and all hoping that I’ll get something better? But have I ever gotten that for very long before someone tries to kill me again? And when will it stop? When will I rest and not have to get up again?

As she stared into the depths of the water, she realized how deep it was. With such deep water and such a strong current, she could have easily drowned herself as a human. But now she could not do that. It would take much more for her to die now, and it would have to be by another’s hand.
Yet what of that? she thought. “To sleep, to die.” And then “by a sleep to say we end the heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to”. Isn’t that what they say? Is it not supposed to be a most desirable consummation to put an end to the sling and arrows of outrageous fortunes? Isn’t it?

Yet she could force herself to offer up her body to be burned by others. They had torn her this way and that for so long, so why should she let them do it again, even if it were only to make an end to her life?

Then it was more than that. She did not like to believe in a god or an afterlife, but suppose they really did exist? What would be waiting for her after death? Surely it was nothing good. Sabine was no fool. She knew that she had sinned horribly and that she could not be forgiven. Maybe the sins had mainly been for self-preservation or for revenge (though revenge was rarer), but that would not matter.

After all, when have the motives ever mattered? she thought. It’s all in the consequences of the actions, and I’ve done many things with terrible consequences, haven’t I?

So then death was no solution. Once again, she’d come full circle. With that realization, she pushed herself back up, crouching forward on her hands. She was about to stand up and walk to find out where she was when she finally smelled him.

Her head shot up, and her almond-shaped eyes met his rounder eyes. Her heart nearly dropped down into her stomach at the sight of his scarred face. She had given him that long scar years ago after she’d stolen something that someone else had desired and when he had tried to get it back and get rid of her.

And now he’s really going to get rid of me if I don’t move, she thought, springing back just as he lunged at her. She landed on her feet with her back to a tree.

“Caught you off guard, you little witch?” he taunted, and Sabine swore at herself. She’d been such a fool, getting into this. Now she was alone in unfamiliar territory with one of the men who hunting her, staring her down, savoring the fact that he had her cornered.

Let him savor this then, she thought, spitting in contempt before she dodged his next lunge. This time, she landed in a branch.

Sabine leaped down from the tree, attempting to pin her pursuer, but he got away quickly, leaping back over the river. That was when Sabine saw her chance to get away to a place where she could hide, feed, and then turn and fight.

I just need to get to the town, she thought, remember the vague human scents that she had smelled. She took off running immediately in the opposite direction. She knew that she could get away. She was sure of it. She was much faster than Tony anyway.

As she took off running, the feel of him on her back vanished, and she almost let herself sigh in relief.

Don't do that! she scolded herself. Look what mess it got you into just a few minutes ago. That thought in her head, she kept pushing herself onward, bolting toward the safety of the darkened human settlement. Hopefully, there would be someone who could "donate" blood to her--involuntarily of course.

Then, without warning, Tony leaped down from a tree, landing squarely in front of her. A cry of fear and anger tore from Sabine's lips, and she leaped back, her venom pulsing fast in her veins.

"Wh...what?" she stammered.

"Didn't you know what my power was?" he asked. "I can project illusions of myself all over the place. You dodged an illusion. Let's see if you can dodge the real thing."